“What - what?” Keryn appeared to be surprised at the sudden attention she was getting and she flustered: “What are you looking at me for?”

  “You didn’t answer. ” Mararrowed his eyes: “Were you distracted?”

  “No - no - I - ”

  “Where is your desk?” Kevin asked all of a sudden: “Where’s your desk in the whole floor pn?”

  “Floorpn? Why are you askihis?” Keryn shrugged and giggled: “Heheh - why are you - why are you askihis? You know - I’ve been following you all this way, and - ”

  “Where is your desk on the floor!?” Kevin almost growled his question. And right at the same time, Gloria and Marcus shot at Keryn from both sides and grabbed her by her arms and shoulders. She raised her head, her face showing in a twisted and creepy grin. Before she could even utter a word, a talisman ped on her forehead by Kevin. Smoke started ing out from uhe talisman. A gurgling moan popped from her throat. She tried to break free from Marcus and Gloria’s trol, but was not able to do it in a moment’s time.

  “Who are you!? ” Kevin barked: “Get out of her body!”

  “I ’t tell you that - I don’t even know myself.” Keryn ughed, then coughed, then ughed again. The talisman was hurting “her”, or whatever’s possessing her. But it did not show any signs of actually pushing the thing out of Keryn just yet. It was still her voice, but the tone and the intonation was that of airely different person. Never could Kevin and Marcus expect this kind of expression from her: “But - but this is good - I only feel what it’s like to have flesh and blood - hehehe - ”

  “Get out! Before we make you.” Tae Kuo came over with a talisman tucked in his and ready to pour some more rice wine on his hand: “And we WILL make you - don’t test us.”

  “Hehehehehe… ” “Kery out a ugh with straones and echoes: “Then you won’t get out of this byrinth. You wanna try? Even the most powerful exorcists iy ’t break out of it. And there were many of them… Much less you - three muscle heads, two civilians and a half-ass exorcist.”

  Everyo silent for a moment. The talisman on Keryn’s forehead finally burned off, leaving a small pile of ash on her forehead.

  “Now, let me go! ” “Keryn” barked: “Even I feel hurt now! Don’t you even care how your friend feels? Get off me!”

  “Tell me what you know.” Tae Kuo took a look at Gloria and Marcus, who stopped pressing “Keryn” but did not loosen their grip either: “And what you want. Speak, now!”

  “I want to get outta here! Just like you!” “Keryn” grimaced as she tried to pull her arms out of her captrips: “I’ve been locked in here fod knows how fug long! I want out! I want out! I want OUUUUUT!”

  “Shut up!” Mielt on the floor with closed eyes, his hands on his temples and shaking his head: “Shut up! Shut up!”

  “What is it?” Tae Kuo turned back to cheick - he was obviously hearing some presehat were not intelligible to even the Qi users right now.

  “Some - some people are speaking right o my ears.” Mick looked up at Tae Kuo, his eyes were bloodshot, and blood was dripping from his nostrils: “I - I don’t know - I just ’t make it stop - ”

  “Hold on - ” Tae Kuo raised his right hand, his eyes shiftiween Keryn and Tae Kuo.

  “He’s already being affected by the byrinth! Hehehehe - ” “Keryn” ughed: “Let go of me! And I’ll show you a way outta here. Otherwise you just die here, auck here with me and so many more! Ahahahahaha - ”

  “I see what this is now, I think - ” Tae Kuo sighed and grunted, before dipping his right index finger in the rice wihen biting a small wound on his fiip: “Marcus, Gloria, hold her for a bit. Let me see what happens with this - Mick, were you injured by some kind of artifact before?”

  “Yes - a bagua mirror.” Marcus answered.

  Mick groaned, and did not respond at all. Apparently, the audio assault on him from the voices was getting to him more and more.

  Tae Kuo hissed as he wrote on his left palm using his bleeding finger dipped in rice wihen he pulled out a talisman from his pocket, and a small folded red and yelloer ntern. Gloria reized it, for he used this oo help get her and her friends out of the city archive where they were ambushed.

  “Kevin, lit up the dle iae Kuo turo Kevin: “Then, when I say so, you turern sideways and face me with the tip of the dle, you got it?”

  “Got it.” It took Kevin a few tries, but he eventually lit up the dle using a spare lighter.

  Tae Kuo put the talisman in his left palm, where a bloody, are word was written using his own blood. “Mick, you better hear me, or yonna be in big trouble.” He said with a calm but stern voice.

  This time Mick seemed to have heard him, he looked up at Tae Kuo, eyes redder than before, still blog his ears with his hands.

  “Good.” Tae Kuo let out a sigh of relief, before smming his left palm oop of Mick’s head. A glimmer of golden light fshed between the space of his palm and Mick’s hair. And within the blink of ahree shadowy, crooked, gruesome and broken looking human-like shadoeared standing behind him. All three shadows had one hand on Mick’s body, one on his head, and two others on his shoulders.

  Tae Kuo mumbled a spell below his breath, then swung his right hand with his index and middle fingers exte the red and yelloer ntern: “Foul and grudgeful spirits, seek yht and life elsewhere!”

  Kevin turhe ntern sideways, and poihe small dle i Tae Kuo and Mick. Almht at the same time, the three shadows were shrunken and sucked into the ntern.

  Kevin’s arms shook, the ntern in his hands had suddenly grown i and the su delivered a bit of impact to his body. Mick gasped and fell on his back.

  “God! What - what happened?!” Mick took a few deep breaths before answering.

  A shout out to my patrons:

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  Jonathan

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